Fairs: Expo Artifacts: Going, Gone

Expo Artifacts: Going, Gone

A chainsaw-carved, life-size wooden elephant was lugged away for $13,000. A 4-ft.-high red fiber-glass ball called Zargon was snapped up for $2,625. These were some of the bargains to be found at last week's auction of sculpture, furniture and potpourri from Expo 86, the world's fair held in Vancouver from last May to October.

The auction should bring in somewhere between $15 million and $30 million, which will help pay off the fair's $216 million deficit. Some of that cash will come from Expo 86 officials themselves. Expo Ernie, the stainless-steel and acrylic computerized robot that served as the fair's mascot,...